Calculating vandalism funding

In the school Property Occupancy Document (POD), vandalism is defined as “wilful damage to or loss of any part of the school site, buildings or other facilities, excluding arson and normal wear and tear”.

Each year you receive funding to manage vandalism. The amount depends on which vandalism risk category your school is in. Your risk category is based on the average vandalism costs for your school in the past.

The funding is included in your operational funding each year. Your Grant Advice Notice will tell you the amount.

Vandalism risk categories

The 5 vandalism risk categories are ranked from A (lowest risk) to E (highest risk). The funding you receive is the mid-point amount within your category, multiplied by the number of your students.

These funding rates are adjusted for inflation each year.

The table below shows the current vandalism rates.

Vandalism risk category

Funding range based on average historic vandalism costs

Funding rate per student (mid-point)

Upper limit (per student)

A

$0 – $7.50

$3.75

$7.50

B

$7.51 – $14.97

$11.24

$14.97

C

$14.98 – $22.52

$18.75

$22.52

D

$22.53 – $29.91

$26.22

$29.91

E

$29.92 +

$29.96

$30.00

If your vandalism costs go over the mid-point, you have to meet the difference, up to the upper limit.

Vandalism funding examples

Example 1:

Kiwi Park Primary School has 75 students and is in category B. It received $843 ($11.24 x 75) in vandalism funding in 2014. Its vandalism costs for that year were $1000 to paint over graffiti on an entire wall of the hall. The school’s 'upper limit' is $1,122.75 ($14.97 x 75). The school must pay $157 ($1000 – $843) out of its operational funding.

Example 2:

Kiwi Park Secondary School has 127 students and is in category A. It received $476.25 ($3.75 x 127) in vandalism funding in 2014. Its vandalism costs for that year were $1000 to repair smashed windows throughout a block. The school’s 'upper limit' is $952.50 ($7.50 x 127). The school must pay $476.25, which is the difference between the mid-point and upper limit. But it can get top-up funding of $47.50, which is the amount it cost to fix the windows over the upper limit.

top-up funding – the amount you can claim reimbursement for over the upper limit.

We consider top-up claims throughout the year. You can either:

make a claim for one vandalism event, or

add them up and make one claim for the year – you will need to submit this claim by mid-June for reimbursement that year.

Applying for funding after a major vandalism event

If there is a major vandalism event at your school and the repair costs will be well over your upper limit, you can apply to the Ministry for funding immediately after the event. You need to provide:

copies of invoices to fix the damage (including GST)

an estimate of the costs if the damage is not yet fixed

a detailed Police report

your analysis of the event, including any background information that sheds light on what happened.

Contact your local Ministry office to:

ask if we will meet the excess costs

find out about temporary accommodation where buildings are too damaged to use

decide whether the school should be moved to a higher vandalism risk category.

The extra costs will be met if either:

the cost of that one event is above your upper limit, or

the cost of that event, combined with vandalism expenses you have already had to pay during the year, will put you over the upper limit.

Changes to your vandalism risk category

We will reassess your school’s vandalism risk category if you have:

experienced a general increase in vandalism, and

exceeded your vandalism funding for 3 consecutive years.

To be reassessed, you need to provide us with a record of your vandalism costs for the last 3 years. We will only consider your request if you are taking action to reduce your vandalism costs, like installing security systems.

If you wish for your school to be reassessed to a lower risk category, discuss this with your local office.

Reducing vandalism

You can take a number of steps to reduce vandalism and other incidents like arson or theft.

If you have serious, ongoing vandalism problems, you may qualify for capital funding to improve security.

For more information about improving security and getting security funding, go to Security design.